Compassion

Tomorrow, I'm teaching a new round of "Compassion"....

Since I'm preparing for my class tomorrow (while watching Wife Swap which makes me chuckle!), I thought I'd include this article that I'm using: Yancey on Nouwen (great summary of the life of Nouwen and his commitment to incarnating Christ's presence) and part of this blog: a blog on mudhouse sabbath--mourning (I think this is a nice look at how we are not comfortable being totally present with people as they suffer)

Both of these pieces are part of the message of the first whole section which is Nouwen's look at the "Compassion" of God; the nature of God's incarnation, the nature of God's solution to human suffering-- solidarity with the human condition.

And Nouwen's introduction and first section of the book is predicated on the fact that our human nature is competitive more than compassionate.

This all-pervasive competition, which reaches into the smallest corners of our relationships, prevents us from entering into full solidarity with each other, and stands in the way of our being compassionate.  We prefer to keep compassion on the periphery of our competitive lives.  Being compassionate would require giving up dividing lines and relinquishing differences and distinctions that would mean losing our identities.  This makes it clear why the call to be compassionate is so frightening and evokes such deep resistance.  This fear, which is real and influences much of our behavior, betrays our deepest illusions: that we can forge our own identities; that we are the collective impressions of our surroundings; that we are the trophies and distinctions we have won.  This, indeed, is our greatest illusion.  It makes us into competitive people who compulsively cling to our differences and defend them at all cost, even to the point of violence.

He then explains that God can become so deeply human with us because he is totally other than us, in no competition with us.  And if we want to become compassionate as he is, we would also have to totally accept the compassion of God and participate with him in his divine life to say, "I am not the esteem I can collect through competition, but the love that I have freely received from God".... This divine compassion is not, like our self-made compassion, part of the competition.  Rather, it is the expression of a new way of living in which interpersonal comparisons, rivalries, and competitions are gradually left behind.  


So, here is the start to this two week of teaching; of trying to suggest that we don't need solutions, schemas, direct words from God regarding our vocation, or other divine revelations--but in fact we should commit to the nitty-gritty work of turning away from our "natural" self, our pursuit of identity in relationship to other people's identity (competition) but rather seek our divine identity--our truest humanity which allows us to be in full solidarity with all humanity.

As I was writing this tonight I'm struck by the fact that these things are "gradually" left behind.  And each time I teach this book which tends towards the abstract, I'm struck with trying to highlight or discuss the practical ways we can seek this compassion.  How have I personally worked towards a "gradually leaving behind" of my competitive ways--in motherhood, ex-patriatehood, in spouse-hood, or intellectual life, or genuine-ness, or intentionality or creativity or cross-culturalhood or discipleship  or friendship or teacher-hood or right-brain-ness or mentoring, etc, etc, ,etc...  In what specific ways am I receiving my full esteem and identity from God's free gift of love and compassion, not from any of my own makings....